Bastille means: Chiefly in French contexts: a rampart]] or other fortification or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
bastille
Chiefly in French contexts: a rampart]] or other fortification or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.
bæˈstiːlDocumented since 1890sSilenthistoricalCurrent167 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Seen in the wild
5 citations · last seen May 2026
Etymology timeline
Born ~1897 · 1 year of recorded use19th centurySee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Now playing on 91.3 Ayclt FM HD3: Happier by Marshmello, Bastille! Tune in now: https://radio.913aycltfm.com/listen/91.3_ayclt_fm_hd3/bluesky
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BlueskyMay 2026
I suspect this is very much how the French population felt just before the storming of the Bastille.
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BlueskyMay 2026
BBC Radio 1 Anthems Radio 1 Anthems: The Streets, Keri Hilson, Disclosure and more Now Playing Bastille Of The Night
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BlueskyMay 2026
this is really the year to make Bastille Day a thing over here
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BlueskyMay 2026
We are long overdue for a Storming of the Bastille. The fact we haven't had one yet....
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Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK
Chiefly in French contexts: a rampart]] or other fortification or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.
Origin: [[File:Prise de la Bastille, le peuple entre.jpg|thumb|An 1897 engraving of the storming of the Bastille in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution. Known in full as Bastille Saint-Antoine, the Bastille was a former fortress () used by the French monarchy as a prison in the 17th and 18th centuries.]] The is derived from , bastel, from , bastille, , and , basstel (modern ; compare ), from bastide with the ending modified after nouns ending in -ille (from ). Bastide is derived from , from bastir + -ida; while bastir is from *bastīre, from , from , from ; further e. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
For parents
Bastille means: Chiefly in French contexts: a rampart]] or other fortification or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
bastille means: Chiefly in French contexts: a rampart]] or other fortification or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Heard in the wild
“Now playing on 91.3 Ayclt FM HD3: Happier by Marshmello, Bastille! Tune in now: https://radio.913aycltfm.com/listen/91.3_ayclt_fm_hd3/bluesky”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I suspect this is very much how the French population felt just before the storming of the Bastille.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“BBC Radio 1 Anthems Radio 1 Anthems: The Streets, Keri Hilson, Disclosure and more Now Playing Bastille Of The Night”
— Bluesky· May 2026“this is really the year to make Bastille Day a thing over here”
— Bluesky· May 2026“We are long overdue for a Storming of the Bastille. The fact we haven't had one yet....”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
(military, historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.
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UK
#3·Apr 27, 2026UK
(transitive, also, figuratively) To confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille () or prison; to imprison.
Cluster: drugs
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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UK
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